Joseph Campbell is often depicted as the most well-read man on earth. During the Great Depression - jobless and without a clear future - he imposed a strict regime on himself: hours of reading, thinking, and studying every single day. This inner fire, this insatiable hunger for meaning and knowledge, felt like a calling.

From that immense body of reading, he distilled something both simple and revolutionary: all great stories - fairy tales, myths, religions, Greek tragedies, epics -all follow the same structure. Whether it’s Gilgamesh or Frodo, the Buddha or Luke Skywalker: there is always a hero, a calling, a refusal. A threshold is crossed, leading to an unknown world full of allies, dragons and trials. And then, after the transformation, the return - often the hardest part. Returning to a world that hasn’t changed, while you have.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces outlines this universal structure: the so-called monomyth, or the hero’s journey. Campbell shows that this blueprint is not just a literary device, but deeply human. It’s a psychological, existential pattern. Not a formula, but an inner map.

Hollywood long ago adopted Campbell as its house philosopher. His book is required reading for screenwriters which is clearly visible in films the like of Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Finding Nemo. Just watch closely. Even commercials and TED talks now echo this archetypal narrative: a hero, a crisis, a victory, a homecoming.

But those who truly understand Campbell know his work reaches far deeper. The hero’s journey is a metaphor for life itself. To live your true life, you must take the red pill, follow your calling - even if it goes against the current. There is no other way. But fear not;  there is a reward. Not in fame or fortune, but in transformation. In rediscovering yourself. In uncovering the essence of who you truly are.